I am fed up with the nonsense about Barack Obama’s character.

The incessant question, “Who is Barack Obama?” The over use of his middle name and inferences to terrorists and the “unknown”, pathetic attempts to manipulate xenophobia and racial fears in the less educated. These are dangerous and irresponsible tactics which are failing to help John McCain, while putting Obama in harm’s way. The accusations brought against Obama by the McCain camp seem to be some strange new form of political projection. Not only are these outrageous accusations ridiculous and offensive, they are more accurately applicable to Senator McCain and Governor Palin.

Is their official campaign strategy to accuse Obama of anything they could LEGITIMATELY be accused of themselves?

“Obama is inexperienced” has Palin written all over it.

“Obama pals around with terrorists” Oh…look, Palin again. See above (Anti-American Alaskan secessionists)

“Obama wants to raise taxes” despite the repeated attempts to explain that 95% of American households and small businesses WILL NOT SEE A TAX RAISE but rather TAX CUTS under Obama’s economic plan!!!

John Sidney McCain is still using this as a talking point because he has NOTHING except lies and racial fear to use in a sad attempt to scare people into voting for him. Nobody really supports McCain. Most of his supporters support the Anti-Women, Anti-intellectual, Anti-reality Palin or are simply anti-Obama voters. An anti-vote may go in his pocket but it is not a vote of confidence in McCain’s ability to run the country or popularity.

The irony is that McCain’s own economic plan would not give relief to the majority of people and even the parts that resemble relief (tax cuts, etc.) for the majority of people are not well-defined or well explained. Funny, the only part that is laid out in a clear and concise manner is his tax-relief plans for the uber-rich, professional stock traders and corporate fat-cats shuffling money off-shore to avoid paying taxes. Furthermore, the minute cuts he proposes for the Joe population all have loopholes which will end up costing “Joe” even more (i.e. education with no funding, promised support for special needs children, veterans, elderly, etc. which are all contradicted by his “spending freeze”, $2500 for each family for health care rebates but then taxing employer provided health care, in essence discouraging employers from providing health care in the first place and despite the average family cost of $1200 for health care a year.)

BOTTOM LINE ON TAXES: McCain’s tax cuts will help the obnoxiously wealthy and I am not referring to Joe Sixpack, Joe the Plumber, Joe Blow, Sloppy Joes or Joe vs. the Volcano or any Joe that has a small business. Obama’s tax cuts will POSITIVELY effect the economy by putting money in American’s pockets… if we have money, we’ll spend it… and 95 (NINETY FIVE) 95 95 95 95 95 95 95 95 95 95 95 95 (do you get it yet?) 95% of people in our country will benefit. What part of this is so difficult? Just because McCain says something, doesn’t make it true. It actually, statistically, probably makes it untrue. Read for yourself his plan, read it thoroughly. Read them both.

Under Mr. Obama’s plan, the middle of the middle class, or those earning $37,595 to $66,354, would see taxes cut by $1,042 a year. Under Mr. McCain’s plan, taxes for people in that category would also fall, but by $319; the largest chunk of the benefits would go to those making $2.8 million a year or more.
Larry Rohter, Will the Real Tax-and-Spender Please ‘Fess Up, NY Times, Jun. 13, 2008.

McCain’s strategy has always been see what is working for Barack, steal it… change it only slightly, repeat Barack’s stance on it verbatim and claim it as his own under the mighty (and flimsy) shield of Maverick-ism. This is ridiculous. It is clear to see McCain does not have the best interest of any Joe at heart. And don’t even get me started on his policies for Jane.

BOTTOM LINE ON PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES AND DANGEROUS PALS: This, too, seems to be more a Palin thing than a Obama thing. He was 8 when this Ayers fellow engaged in horrific acts. I don’t think they were “palling” around. But who exactly is Palin’ around with anti-governmental Alaskan secessionists who believe that violence is acceptable to win the “war” they are waging against the U.S.? Shouldn’t you be more concerned with this woman and her shady ties or at least as equally concerned?

Who is Barack Obama? There is so much information out about him. Information-filled biographies; his website where he states clearly his stance on every issue and it has been consistent ALL ALONG. Stop being ridiculous. If you have doubts about who Obama is, um… then you either you are a closet racist or you are simply lazy. The information is a google search away or at your local book store. The same cannot be said about Mrs. Palin who avoids interviews, questions, etc and dodges answering anything directly even when she is cornered (i.e. the VP debate). She is a trained monkey keeping secrets while giving lip service to campaign words like “maverick” “change” “transparency”.

You cannot reasonably question whether you know Barack enough but believe you truly know Sarah Palin. We have had ten times the exposure into Barack’s life as we have into Palin’s. SO when you ask “Who is Barack Obama?” are you really asking because you can’t find out what you want to know? Or are you asking because it is your polite mavericky way of saying, ‘but he’s blaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaacccccccccccccck’.

For all of you questioning who is Barack Obama but not who are Sarah Palin and John McCain (because I am quite certain you didn’t know much about him before this and maybe the last Presidential campaign and I would even venture to say you still don’t), I encourage you to look up the following:

Troopergate.

The Keating 5 Scandal.

John McCain’s original 2008 Presidential Platform concerns. Note: His now adamant concern with the energy crisis is an extremely recent stance for McCain. It was just a few short months ago that he was making fun of Obama for his focus on energy reform.

All of the candidate’s voting records on a UNBIASED source. Pay particular attention to McCain’s voting record with regards to veterans, oil companies, deregulation, financial institutions and tax cuts.

And please use some common sense, think. Money must go into the pot before going out of the pot. If John McCain allows the multi-billion dollar corporations to skate past the post… well, there will be less money in it to spend, even for his conflicting promises to support veterans (not supported in his record) and special needs children. It is a sneaky way of spending folks and he has it down to an art.

So, ask if you must but then also ask, “Who is John McCain?” and “Who is Sarah Palin?” and why did he pick her anyways?

Read all about it for yourself.

THE KEATING SCANDAL

The ABC’s of the Keating Scandal

Let’s analyze this term…”Joe Six-Pack”. Could that be a euphemism for frat boy? Frat boy…hrm, why does that seem so familiar? Frat boy. OH! YES! George W. Bush is a glorified frat boy, albeit in the morning after period of an eight year binge, he can’t be bothered to lead this country at all, even in the wrong direction (perhaps he is too focused on his $805 billion parting gift). Joe Six-Pack…frat boy…George W. Bush. It makes sense now. Given the McCain campaign’s penchant for wordplay campaigning (aka the Straight Talk Express — shiver — is anyone else having Orwellian flashbacks to 1984?)…we can assume this new phrase means he supports the failed Bush and Rovian politics (again) but renamed them to confuse average Joe Sixpacks. I understand now.

Sarah Palin is ridiculous. She is frighteningly unprepared for the Vice Presidency or even for the Senate. This becomes glaringly more and more obvious as time (and McCain) allows her to speak in public. From foreign to domestic affairs, she lacks even the basic understanding. They should be embarrassed. McCain did himself NO favor by choosing her. Now the McCorporation ticket is headed straight to the White “Trash” House, fully equipped with someone even less intelligent than George W. (and we thought this wasn’t possible, silly us!), moose-hunting and “dontchaknows”! Yeee haw! If they become elected, we can start a bill to change the name of our country to the United Stupid of America, Land of the French Fries…the world’s beacon for Idiocracy.

Are we even remotely interested in how this country is led anymore? Or is it simply a matter of ensuring we do not think for ourselves while banishing our civil rights and liberties? Or is the support for Palin and McCorporation simply a case of latent racism? Please tell me Americans are not this stupid!

Put up or shut up. Obama said it perfectly, “It’s going to be part of the president’s job to be able to deal with more than one thing at once.”

Look at Bush, the worst President in our history… even he can do more than one thing at a time. He is running an illegitimate war, spending billions of dollars we cannot afford, while scaring the crap out of 1/2 of America with this $700 billion dollars OR BUST scam on his way out of office. And people say he isn’t talented…

We need change. Real change. You are so good at giving lip service to change but you are anything but honest. Show up to the debates, McCain. You can’t weasel your way out of this one. You can’t put out a ridiculous ad to confuse or mislead the masses in a debate. You can’t change your stance 125 times and hope it goes unnoticed. Just show up and let the world know what you are really about. Enough is enough.

Since him, the Republicans in office should more aptly have claimed the Corporatist Party. And the everyday people who vote Republican should claim the same party under the United Federation of Sheeple. They seem not to be able to think or reason amongst themselves. McCain has flipflopped not positions he espoused twenty years or even ten…though he has changed those too but rather he is flipflopping on positions he had two months ago, two weeks ago, two days ago. He is saying whatever he can to win the election. What is most infuriating are the masses who seem incapable of calling him on his crap.

Look, if Obama suddenly wanted to give corporations tax breaks and take away our civil liberties or started riding around on tank declaring the victory in a war he plans to continue, I would NOT stand behind him. I would NOT vote for him. Some change, some flexibility is necessary. Obama has demonstrated his entire career a reasonable amount of flexibility. This is not the same flexibility McCain is demonstrating. His only demonstrable flexibility is in stretching the truth in commercials and townhall meetings to fit what he thinks you want to hear, what Obama has been saying along. So, if suddenly his views are coinciding with Obama’s views, why again are you not voting with Obama instead? The original maverick? The guy who came up with the plan instead of the guy who stole it?

How many times will McCain conveniently adopt a stance he has never voted for and has heard Obama advocate? This is no more than cheap ploys, mimicking the other guy because he makes sense. But I ask, “where’s the beef” in McCain’s empty words? And I am shocked that more Republicans are not doing the same. What happened to you Republicans? SHEESH! Bring back the old-time real Republicans…they would never stand for someone because of one issue. Republicans are so narrow these days… it is all about getting their sold-out party into office or generally falls to one issue-voters. That is why they STILL can’t get their heads around an idea that Hillary supporters are not Palin supporters, afterall she is a woman. Their reasoning for supporting their candidate is flawed, weak, ridiculous.

I will save for tomorrow the topic of the weak-knee’d, pansy Democrats of today. It is time to stand up and call a greedy, corporatist LIAR (AKA JOHN MCCAIN) exactly what he is… a greedy, lying, power hungry Corporatist. He is not Republican, not a real Republican anyways. And Democrats must come to realize, they can’t just wait for the new Republicans to do the right thing. Gone are those days!

In case you are interested in real politics. I am posting the transcript of the speech (in the youtube video above) below.

Military-Industrial Complex Speech, Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1961

Public Papers of the Presidents, Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1960, p. 1035- 1040

My fellow Americans:

Three days from now, after half a century in the service of our country, I shall lay down the responsibilities of office as, in traditional and solemn ceremony, the authority of the Presidency is vested in my successor.

This evening I come to you with a message of leave-taking and farewell, and to share a few final thoughts with you, my countrymen.

Like every other citizen, I wish the new President, and all who will labor with him, Godspeed. I pray that the coming years will be blessed with peace and prosperity for all.

Our people expect their President and the Congress to find essential agreement on issues of great moment, the wise resolution of which will better shape the future of the Nation.

My own relations with the Congress, which began on a remote and tenuous basis when, long ago, a member of the Senate appointed me to West Point, have since ranged to the intimate during the war and immediate post-war period, and, finally, to the mutually interdependent during these past eight years.

In this final relationship, the Congress and the Administration have, on most vital issues, cooperated well, to serve the national good rather than mere partisanship, and so have assured that the business of the Nation should go forward. So, my official relationship with the Congress ends in a feeling, on my part, of gratitude that we have been able to do so much together.

II.

We now stand ten years past the midpoint of a century that has witnessed four major wars among great nations. Three of these involved our own country. Despite these holocausts America is today the strongest, the most influential and most productive nation in the world. Understandably proud of this pre-eminence, we yet realize that America’s leadership and prestige depend, not merely upon our unmatched material progress, riches and military strength, but on how we use our power in the interests of world peace and human betterment.

III.

Throughout America’s adventure in free government, our basic purposes have been to keep the peace; to foster progress in human achievement, and to enhance liberty, dignity and integrity among people and among nations. To strive for less would be unworthy of a free and religious people. Any failure traceable to arrogance, or our lack of comprehension or readiness to sacrifice would inflict upon us grievous hurt both at home and abroad.

Progress toward these noble goals is persistently threatened by the conflict now engulfing the world. It commands our whole attention, absorbs our very beings. We face a hostile ideology — global in scope, atheistic in character, ruthless in purpose, and insidious in method. Unhappily the danger is poses promises to be of indefinite duration. To meet it successfully, there is called for, not so much the emotional and transitory sacrifices of crisis, but rather those which enable us to carry forward steadily, surely, and without complaint the burdens of a prolonged and complex struggle — with liberty the stake. Only thus shall we remain, despite every provocation, on our charted course toward permanent peace and human betterment.

Crises there will continue to be. In meeting them, whether foreign or domestic, great or small, there is a recurring temptation to feel that some spectacular and costly action could become the miraculous solution to all current difficulties. A huge increase in newer elements of our defense; development of unrealistic programs to cure every ill in agriculture; a dramatic expansion in basic and applied research — these and many other possibilities, each possibly promising in itself, may be suggested as the only way to the road we wish to travel.

But each proposal must be weighed in the light of a broader consideration: the need to maintain balance in and among national programs — balance between the private and the public economy, balance between cost and hoped for advantage — balance between the clearly necessary and the comfortably desirable; balance between our essential requirements as a nation and the duties imposed by the nation upon the individual; balance between actions of the moment and the national welfare of the future. Good judgment seeks balance and progress; lack of it eventually finds imbalance and frustration.

The record of many decades stands as proof that our people and their government have, in the main, understood these truths and have responded to them well, in the face of stress and threat. But threats, new in kind or degree, constantly arise. I mention two only.

IV.

A vital element in keeping the peace is our military establishment. Our arms must be mighty, ready for instant action, so that no potential aggressor may be tempted to risk his own destruction.

Our military organization today bears little relation to that known by any of my predecessors in peacetime, or indeed by the fighting men of World War II or Korea.

Until the latest of our world conflicts, the United States had no armaments industry. American makers of plowshares could, with time and as required, make swords as well. But now we can no longer risk emergency improvisation of national defense; we have been compelled to create a permanent armaments industry of vast proportions. Added to this, three and a half million men and women are directly engaged in the defense establishment. We annually spend on military security more than the net income of all United States corporations.

This conjunction of an immense military establishment and a large arms industry is new in the American experience. The total influence — economic, political, even spiritual — is felt in every city, every State house, every office of the Federal government. We recognize the imperative need for this development. Yet we must not fail to comprehend its grave implications. Our toil, resources and livelihood are all involved; so is the very structure of our society.

In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the militaryindustrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.

We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted. Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper together.

Akin to, and largely responsible for the sweeping changes in our industrial-military posture, has been the technological revolution during recent decades.

In this revolution, research has become central; it also becomes more formalized, complex, and costly. A steadily increasing share is conducted for, by, or at the direction of, the Federal government.

Today, the solitary inventor, tinkering in his shop, has been overshadowed by task forces of scientists in laboratories and testing fields. In the same fashion, the free university, historically the fountainhead of free ideas and scientific discovery, has experienced a revolution in the conduct of research. Partly because of the huge costs involved, a government contract becomes virtually a substitute for intellectual curiosity. For every old blackboard there are now hundreds of new electronic computers.

The prospect of domination of the nation’s scholars by Federal employment, project allocations, and the power of money is ever present

* and is gravely to be regarded.

Yet, in holding scientific research and discovery in respect, as we should, we must also be alert to the equal and opposite danger that public policy could itself become the captive of a scientifictechnological elite.

It is the task of statesmanship to mold, to balance, and to integrate these and other forces, new and old, within the principles of our democratic system — ever aiming toward the supreme goals of our free society.

V.

Another factor in maintaining balance involves the element of time. As we peer into society’s future, we — you and I, and our government — must avoid the impulse to live only for today, plundering, for our own ease and convenience, the precious resources of tomorrow. We cannot mortgage the material assets of our grandchildren without risking the loss also of their political and spiritual heritage. We want democracy to survive for all generations to come, not to become the insolvent phantom of tomorrow.

VI.

Down the long lane of the history yet to be written America knows that this world of ours, ever growing smaller, must avoid becoming a community of dreadful fear and hate, and be instead, a proud confederation of mutual trust and respect.

Such a confederation must be one of equals. The weakest must come to the conference table with the same confidence as do we, protected as we are by our moral, economic, and military strength. That table, though scarred by many past frustrations, cannot be abandoned for the certain agony of the battlefield.

Disarmament, with mutual honor and confidence, is a continuing imperative. Together we must learn how to compose differences, not with arms, but with intellect and decent purpose. Because this need is so sharp and apparent I confess that I lay down my official responsibilities in this field with a definite sense of disappointment. As one who has witnessed the horror and the lingering sadness of war — as one who knows that another war could utterly destroy this civilization which has been so slowly and painfully built over thousands of years — I wish I could say tonight that a lasting peace is in sight.

Happily, I can say that war has been avoided. Steady progress toward our ultimate goal has been made. But, so much remains to be done. As a private citizen, I shall never cease to do what little I can to help the world advance along that road.

VII.

So — in this my last good night to you as your President — I thank you for the many opportunities you have given me for public service in war and peace. I trust that in that service you find some things worthy; as for the rest of it, I know you will find ways to improve performance in the future.

You and I — my fellow citizens — need to be strong in our faith that all nations, under God, will reach the goal of peace with justice. May we be ever unswerving in devotion to principle, confident but humble with power, diligent in pursuit of the Nation’s great goals.

To all the peoples of the world, I once more give expression to America’s prayerful and continuing aspiration:

We pray that peoples of all faiths, all races, all nations, may have their great human needs satisfied; that those now denied opportunity shall come to enjoy it to the full; that all who yearn for freedom may experience its spiritual blessings; that those who have freedom will understand, also, its heavy responsibilities; that all who are insensitive to the needs of others will learn charity; that the scourges of poverty, disease and ignorance will be made to disappear from the earth, and that, in the goodness of time, all peoples will come to live together in a peace guaranteed by the binding force of mutual respect and love.

• A $65 billion-a-year health plan
• $15 billion in green energy spending
• $85 billion in tax cuts and credits
• A $25 billion-a-year increase in foreign aid
• $18 billion a year in education spending
• $3.5 billion for a national service plan

Oh the avaricious right would have you believe Obama is planning on spending, spending, spending…with no means to pay for it. This is a silly accusation. We, lefties, think in terms of people but we are not stupid. Some prefer numbers, even if they distort information to get them. But for the sake of prosperity, let’s discuss Obama’s economic plan on terms they can comprehend, figures. I was digging around in the federal budget for 2008 today, searching through hidden drawers, finding little tidbits to see what numbers I could use that would be fair and accurate. I found some.

In 2008, Bush requested a sum of $141,700,000,000¹ (yes, folks BILLIONs) in appropriated (discretionary) funds to be allocated for Department of Defense emergency operations in the Global War on Terror. This is not base funding, it is not the mandatory funding allocated for defense…it is in addition to it, it is extra emergency SUPPLEMENTAL funding allocated for the “War on Terror”. This money is even above and beyond the $70,000,000,000 ($70.0 BILLION) allocated in the 2007 Defense Appropriations Act for such purposes. This is $388,219,178.10 per day in ADDITIONAL emergency supplemental funds (back-up to the back-up emergency funds) allocated to a war that should have never been started and will not continue, if Obama becomes President.

This is a good number to begin with, don’t you think? It is not the regular budget. It is not the defense budget (which can be argued and skewed in every direction). This is simply surplus-surplus funds (not as in extra money we have to spend frivolously but simply extra money allocated frivolously) sent over to this illegitimate war, a war Obama never wanted us to get into and fully intends on pulling us out of as soon as safely possible, upon election. A war McCain supported from the beginning and has no solid intention or concrete plan on ending.

That money alone would pay for the majority of “spending” Obama has planned. Let’s look at the remaining amount. $211.5 Billion dollars was the original amount of the “offensive suggestions”, right? Subtract the $141.7 billion (just one year’s supplemental back-up emergency funding for the war that will end under Obama) and this leaves a balance of $69.8 billion.

Let’s not forget Obama’s budget will provide a comprehensive health care plan for everyone, green energy spending (READ: LEGITIMATE MEANS TO END DEPENDENCE ON FOREIGN OIL AND GET US OUT OF THE ENERGY CRISIS WE ARE IN), $85 billion in tax cuts and credits for 95% of American households (immediate and long-term financial relief), more foreign aid (which will help improve foreign relations, which…um, will, uh, help reinforce the allies we have not alienated in the past eight years through our excessive use of military might, ignoring our own international agreements and throwing diplomacy out the proverbial window), a better educational system (paying teachers more, focusing on math and science to ensure our future generation is competitive in the technology of tomorrow, helping families afford college etc.) and expands our national service plan (helping people to work within their own communities to improve their own lives and the lives of others, to improve the community and the country as a whole).

However, I digress, back to the $69.8 billion dollars that needs a home in the budget.

Let’s eliminate the tax cuts for the richest 10% of Americans (who hold over 70% of the nation’s wealth)² GASP! Or we can simply deny the additional $70 billion Bush requested for the 2009 version of the $70 billion extra supplemental funds asked for this year, to fund his War on Terror. Looks like the rich don’t even have to help. Simply ending the excessive spending on a war that Obama does not support will pay for all of his proposed spending with some left over ($200,000!).

But, now that I have done all this research, let’s play with the numbers a little, shall we?.

Pretend for a moment, not that we steal from the rich, but that we make them pay the taxes they should already be paying. After all, our taxing system is progressive. It was introduced as progressive, accepted as such and should remain as such. Translation: each person pays as per their income. The rich will pay more than the poor, but such is the progressive tax system in the United States.

The rich can afford more, so they should pay more…period.

If Richie Rich earns a billion dollars, he should have to pay the appropriate amount of taxes. Lisa Lackey is underemployed, she still pays her fair share even if she can’t afford them. Joe Average, gets a promotion and doesn’t see it all reflected on his next paycheck but he continues to pay his taxes as well. Lisa and Joe continue working hard to get promotions, hoping someday they can retire without financial worries. And both still pay their fair share year after year because neither can afford the same accountant who ensures Richie Rich receives fat and unnecessary tax-breaks.

Let’s for fun (hypothetically) take away the $116.6 billion in tax cuts for the richest 10% in FY 2009 and see what sort of fun we can have…

We could provide:³
34,365,274 People with Health Care for One Year OR
120,711,046 Homes with Renewable Electricity for One Year OR
2,518,359 Public Safety Officers for One year OR
1,999,571 Music and Arts Teachers for One Year OR
18,027,211 Scholarships for University Students for One Year OR
907,020 Affordable Housing Units OR
51,391,674 Children with Health Care for One Year OR
16,001,098 Head Start Places for Children for One Year OR
1,915,400 Elementary School Teachers for One Year OR
1,684,667 Port Container Inspectors for One year

Healthy, smart fun for everyone! Why don’t we discuss the realistic trickle down effects of this kind of spending rather than the non-existent theoretical trickle-down effects of laissez-faire type of economy the right-wing philistines prefer? Those who consistently bark about the unnecessary governmental spending by the Liberals, conveniently forget or justify their own spending (unnecessary wars, big corporations, corporate welfare due to excessive to excessive de-regulations, tax cuts for the rich…etc.)

Make no mistake about it, we are not talking about our everyday budgets here. We are talking about the country’s budget. Numbers look larger, more frightening, perhaps even irritating when we, the citizens, are struggling to make ends meet but Obama’s numbers are no bigger than McCain’s or any other President in the past for that matter. And Obama does have a plan on how to come up with the money. Numbers, such as these, seem astronomical to the average American but every national budget plan is more or less the allocation of our tax dollars to different priorities. So, ask yourself, do you want to take care of the economy with the same policies that got us here? Or do you want to try a sensible way?

1. http://www.gpoaccess.gov/usbudget/fy08/pdf/budget/defense.pdf
2. http://solutions.powersimsolutions.com/Ranking/HistoricalPerspective.aspx
3. http://www.nationalpriorities.org/tradeoffs?location_type=1&state=888&program=276&tradeoff_item_item=999&submit_tradeoffs=Get+Trade+Off

Our Presidents (and presidential candidates) are struggling. Time after time we see them battle with the names of the other foreign leaders. It is heart-wrenching to watch the dreaded confusion engulf their faces when they are forced to locate another country on the map. They don’t even know the fundamentals of the economy. The poor things think negotiation tools include nuclear weapon and AK47′s. We must stop the madness. We must not let them fall through the international cracks, or to create even more of them. This is everyone’s future we are talking about. WE must ensure our Presidents (and the candidates running for Presidency) are educated properly to meet the growing needs of the White House. It is IMPORTANT TO ACT NOW! We must not leave any President behind!

Please help me to ensure this ACT is signed by Congress before it is too late.

Note: I thought I was so clever coming up with this idea inspired by McCain not knowing where Spain is located or who the Prime Minister of Spain is exactly. However, after preparing it and posting it…graphic and all, I did a google search and well, I was not the only one to come up with this clever idea. Kudos to the great comedians of the world…and let’s say thanks but no thanks to the road that led us here.

Other links for the NO PRESIDENT LEFT BEHIND ACT:

AVANT NEWS
HUFFINGTON POST
CAFE PRESS

In an interview with Radio Caracol Miami John McCain demonstrated his lack of even the most basic knowledge of the leaders of the world, not even knowingeven a leader of a country that is a member of NATO and our ally.

He stumbled over some pre-planned script in his head that was irrelevant to the question she was asking. She simply wanted to know if McCain is elected President of the US, if he will meet with Prime Minister Zapatero, of Spain. Finally, after listening to him ramble on and on about Mexico and Latin America she had to cut to the chase because it was clear he simply wasn’t getting who Zapatero was at this point in the interview:

“Ok, what about you? I am talking about the President of Spain…ok are you willing to meet with him if you are elected President?”

There are three possibilities for his use of doublespeak in this interview:

1. He confused Spain’s Prime Minister Zapatero with a Zapatista, an armed revolutionary group based in Chiapas, Mexico,
2. He thinks Spain is really south of our border and part of Latin America,
3. He simply doesn’t know who the Prime Minister of Spain is and isn’t willing to admit not knowing.

Not one of these options demonstrate a solid foundation for “good” foreign policy. It sounds eerily reminiscent of Bush to me. How is this basic foreign knowledge change?

We need a leader in this country who can use diplomacy and tact, rather than resorting to military might. We need to reclaim our political legitimacy. This is ridiculous. Why doesn’t every candidate have to take a basic course: Current Foreign Leaders 101? DIPLOMACY 99? POLITICAL HISTORY 100? GEOGRAPHY (HS equivalency level, perhaps? at least?)

I think we should pass a new ACT. We could ask Bush to fund it, we’ll call it the NO PRESIDENT LEFT BEHIND ACT.

The ridiculous discussion about Spain starts at around 2:58:

NO WAY! NO HOW! NO MCCAIN!
Just say no to that bridge to Palin, too!